China on road for a more open media policy?

My recent trip to Hong Kong and China have me rethinking a lot of issues. Let me start with the latest thing first.

I was in Xian when the mega earthquake struck Sichuan last Monday, just 600 km off the quake centre. Over 100 were killed in the northern part of Xian. Luckily, I was travelling in the eastern part at the time of the quake. I didn't even feel it. Our tour guide was notified of the earthquake at around 2:45pm. None of us in the tour group thought it was something THAT big. I was still joking: "Oh, lucky that I have all my valuables -- camera and lenses -- and personal IDs with me."

At dinner time, our tour guide said premier Wen Jiabao was heading to the quake zone. It was not common for an official that high to go to a disaster zone within such a short time. It was only then we realized something unusual had happened.

When we were back at the hotel in the evening, we noticed the walls of our rooms were cracked and doors shifted. I was told the hotel was evacuated in the afternoon. CCTV was already broadcasting live around the clock.

As the world has already seen, China has opted for an extremely open attitude for foreign media coverage of the quake. The most impressive change I observe is that the Hong Kong media -- mainly TV -- have been covering EMBEDDED with the relief army. Reporters were allowed to board helicopters, rescue boats and made first-hand coverage. In the past, only CCTV would be able to cover WITH the officials. This is of monumental significance to a more open media policy of China, if it really is changing. This is also of stark difference to how China handled foreign media coverage of the Tibet riots in March. I wrote back then:

.... I do think China is unwise to expell all foreign reporters, including Hong Kong's who are usually seen as "part of the family". I read reports from various sources that at least during the initial phase of the crackdown, the para-military and cops were ordered to exercise extreme restraint and not to "fight back even being attacked". At least one western tourist's report said that the first casualty in the crackdown could very possibly be that of a young Chinese cop.

If the authorities have given such an order, they should have allowed foreign reporters to shoot some pictures of the dead cops. Again, as I said previously, it's a cultural thing that China has to catch up with learning about the rules of game in world politics and propaganda. Take the initial phase of the US invasion of Iraq for example, the Bush administration has successfully conveyed a message to the world that the US was really fighting a "war on terror". They did this by allowing embedded reporters to cover the war in a highly restrictive fashion... no matter how, they were able to control the messages publicized to their advantage (at least during the first few weeks of the war).

The Washington Post reports that the party did ask the state-owned media to refrain from covering the quake, but was largely ignored by most media outlets who are facing ever-increasing competition after the commercialization of the industry in the 90s.

This week's expansive coverage of the disaster, however, has mobilized a tearful public to donate blood, money and labor, while also giving the nation a good look at the scope of the problem, from scores of collapsed schools to a desperate need for doctors. The coverage has also encouraged citizens to raise questions about the rescue effort, worrying government officials who prefer to control the narrative themselves.

"We know the directives from the propaganda department exist, but if the leadership finds that greater openness serves their interests, maybe they'll reconsider how they handle these things generally," said David Bandurski, a researcher with the China Media Project at Hong Kong University. "If we talk about the media being on a leash, it's still true, but the leash has been lengthened."

...

"The transparency of information can unite everybody to fight against the big tragedy," said Min Dahong, a journalism professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "This is a good opportunity to establish a system that will encourage the press to report in a timely and open manner. I think the government learned a lesson from the snowstorm coverage."

Not only was the media enjoy freer reporting and commentary, the central government also seems to be responding to the media calls too. China has just announced the Olympic Torch relay will be suspended during a three-day mourning for the 1-week anniversary of the Sichuan earthquake.

(Washington Post) The Web site of the Beijing-based financial magazine Caijing carried an editorial Thursday by Huang Fuping, a former deputy editor in chief of the People's Daily, challenging officials' decision to continue the Olympic torch relay in the wake of the recent tragedy.

"Right now the Olympic torch relay is in Jiangxi province, and there still are 27 provinces to go and thousands of torchbearers waiting," Huang wrote. "Under these circumstances, the strategy of the torch relay of the Beijing Olympic Games should be adjusted. It should be suspended between the provinces. After decisive progress has been made in the rescue effort, then we should pass the torch directly from the affected areas of the quake to Beijing."

The same day, the Shanghai Securities News demanded the construction of buildings better able to withstand earthquakes and an end to the corruption that has resulted in shoddily built schools. "If buildings were constructed strictly according to proper standards, most of the buildings should survive an earthquake like the one in Wenchuan, and the casualties wouldn't be so numerous," the paper said in an editorial, noting that 95 percent of earthquake casualties are caused by the collapse of buildings.

In a particularly dramatic piece of coverage, Chinese TV viewers earlier this week watched as a CCTV news anchor, Zhao Pu, struggled to compose himself as he reported on the earthquake. He was widely praised for showing emotion, unlike many of the staid, rigid anchors on state-controlled TV.

"Zhao's tears make the cold face of CCTV warm," said an anonymous poster on Tianya, a popular Chinese Internet forum.

A journalist with The Telegraph was surprised by the "freedom" enjoyed by the press:

Of course with the Beijing Olympics less than three months away, it is in the interest of China’s leaders to act in a way that will win the approval of their many critics overseas. Nevertheless, western journalists in China, long used to operating under reporting restrictions, have been amazed by the freedom they have been allowed in covering the disaster. When I found myself standing five metres from Hu Jintao in Beichuan Middle School on Friday, it seemed like unprecedented access.

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But if the government has learned some lessons since then, the reaction of ordinary Chinese to the crisis is also an insight into how the country has changed in recent years. On the way out of Beichuan on Friday, photographer Natalie Behring and I hitched a ride with four young Chinese from Mianyang who were driving up and down the road to Beichuan, distributing water to people in urgent need of it. They did it with the blessing and financial support of their employers, but it was their idea. Thirty years ago, individual initiative like that was not only unknown, it was dangerous.

The Economist notices:

The Chinese media note that the government's decision to allow prompt coverage follows the implementation on May 1st of new rules on “government information transparency”. Under these rules, the authorities are supposed to make public any information involving the “vital interests of citizens”. But political calculations are likely to have played a bigger role than the regulations themselves, which still allow information to be withheld if it relates to “state secrets”—a term applied sweepingly in China.

Like it or not, China is trying to adapt. The Olympic year offers the best timing for it is under mounting international pressure for a more open China. Perhaps once tried, China wouldn't want to go back. It's high time for the world to be a little more encouraging.